Express-Scripts plans $56 million expansion and 1,500 new jobs over five years

St. Louis is headed to the top ten in college attainment.

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A pillar of our economic development strategy is that, “We will win on today’s regional strengths in focused economic clusters. Explore in detail the four sectors that we believe will shape our region’s future.

“The Banker” … from Central Park West to Washington Avenue

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We’ve condensed a detailed three-year plan into a single paragraph we call our Strategy Statement. It’s all about priorities and direction.

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Our research team has probably answered almost any question that could be asked regarding the St. Louis region. If you can't find it in our Regional Data section, please send a note to Tim Alexander at talexander@stlregionalchamber.com.

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Inner City Capital Connections Program has come to St. Louis. To date, this program has helped 837 different businesses raise over $1.32 billion in capital and create over 11,000 jobs in the inner city. Read more about the program on our blog.

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We believe nothing is more important in St. Louis than achieving Top 10 status in college attainment among the nation's largest metros. Visit www.topteneducation.org to follow our progress.

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If your company represents growth potential for the region -- or you know of other companies that do -- we'd be pleased to help however we can. Please contact Jim Alexander at jalexander@stlregionalchamber.com

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St. Louis is home to 16 Fortune 1000 companies and some of the largest private firms in the U.S.; but don't overlook the ever increasing number of high growth small-to-medium enterprises and startups. Click here for a quick summary.

Each year Fortune magazine publishes their Fortune 1000 list which ranks publicly traded U.S. companies' total revenues. In 2018, the St. Louis area is home to sixteen Fortune 1000 headquarters – a diverse mix of the region’s top companies in energy, financial services, and health care.

This year’s Fortune 500 list features many of the region’s top companies, however, recent mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcies, and external market factors have resulted in changes to companies’ revenue and position on the Fortune 500.

There are a few notable changes since last year. After recovering from bankruptcy in April 2017, Peabody Energy moved into the Fortune 500 this year. Peabody Energy reported revenue of $1.46 billion for the first quarter of 2018 (1). Centene experienced the largest jump in revenues from $40.6 billion in 2017 to $48.6 billion in 2018, moving them up from 66 to 61. Centene is in the process of building a $770 million campus expansion at their Clayton headquarters which will create 2,000 jobs in the region. Monsanto moved up five spots landing at 199 after reporting $1.5 billion in net income during the first quarter of 2018 (2). Arch Coal, landing at number 15, moved up from 796 last year to 870, the largest jump of any company on the Fortune list. The coal provider’s increase in revenue is notable in an industry beset with falling prices. Panera Bread dropped from the list this year following their acquisition by JAB Holding in 2017 (3).

Prospective mergers and acquisitions will influence each company’s respective revenue and position on next year’s list. Express Scripts, St. Louis’ largest public company, recently announced its acquisition by Cigna. If the deal is approved, the combined pharmacy benefit management company will be headquartered in Connecticut and will retain Cigna’s name. Monsanto remained in the Fortune 500 after reporting net income of $1.5 billion during the first quarter of 2018, however the agricultural products manufacturer’s pending acquisition should take it off the list next year (4). After pursuing an aggressive M&A strategy which included acquiring Weetabix and Bob Evans, Post Holdings moved up four spots to 512. The consumer goods company may enter the Fortune 500 next year.

Potential contenders for next year’s Fortune 1000 list include Spire and Energizer Holdings. Spire’s 2017 revenue of $1.7 billion is close to the Fortune 1000 cutoff. In 2016, the natural gas company acquired EnergySouth, Inc. for $344 million. If the company continues its acquisition strategy, Spire may move back into the Fortune 1000. Energizer Holdings is also a contender for next year’s list. Last year the company acquired Spectrum Brands’ Rayovac battery subsidiary and had a reported revenue of $1.8 billion (5).

The Fortune list’s rankings illustrate St. Louis’ longstanding success as a viable location for headquarters of some of the nation’s most prominent and innovative organizations.

The Fortune 1,000 is an annual ranking of publicly-traded companies sorted by their revenues. Eighteen Fortune 1,000 companies are headquartered in St. Louis – nine of which are among the top 500. The regional group of Fortune 500 companies remains unchanged since the 2014 ranking, but there have been some remarkable shifts in their standing this year. Listed below are the 18 St. Louis headquarters, their Fortune ranking and their revenue.

Company

Rank

Revenue (Billions)

Express Scripts Holding

22

$101.8

Centene

124

$22.8

Emerson Electric

128

$22.3

Monsanto

189

$15.0

Reinsurance Group of America

271

$10.4

Jones Financial

382

$6.7

Graybar Electric

423

$6.1

Ameren

425

$6.1

Peabody Energy

458

$5.6

Post Holdings

535

$4.7

Olin

761

$2.9

Panera Bread

797

$2.7

Caleres

824

$2.6

Arch Coal

826

$2.6

Edgewell Personal Care

856

$2.4

Stifel Financial

872

$2.4

Belden

887

$2.3

Spire

980

$2.0

Centene was the biggest mover on the list, jumping 62 spots in the ranking from 186 in 2015 to 124 in 2016 partially due to their $6.3 billion acquisition of Health Net. Express Scripts retained its position at number 22 and remains the highest-ranking St. Louis headquarters on the list.

Turmoil in the energy markets has negatively affected some regional headquarters, such as SunEdison, Arch Coal and Peabody Energy. Although SunEdison and Arch Coal no longer qualify for the Fortune list, Peabody remains in the top 500. Sigma-Aldrich is no longer on the list due to its acquisition by Merck. Energizer split into two companies: Energizer and Edgewell Personal Care. This brought a new headquarters to St. Louis, which ranks at 856; however, Energizer’s revenues ranked below the cutoff point. Spire, formerly the Laclede Group, rejoined the Fortune ranking after its acquisition of EnergySouth earlier this year.

The Fortune 1,000 list alone does not encompass all the large headquarters in the region. Many businesses do not qualify for the list because they are privately owned, such as Enterprise Rent-A-Car and World Wide Technology, or are nonprofits like BJC HealthCare. These headquarters are major sources of economic activity in the region which bring in similar revenues compared to local companies ranked on the Fortune list.

The Fortune 1,000 list fluctuates due to the ever-changing business landscape. Despite this, St. Louis headquarters consistently rank high and continue to grow. These standings document St. Louis’ long-term viability as a headquarters location for some of the nation’s largest and most innovative companies.